We have 4 interns working with us this summer. Interns, of course, are a challenge to manage. They tend to be inexperienced and have limited traditional work skills. They need help and guidance, and it takes time to keep them on track.
Because of this, many people don't want them.
But we think the good of interns way outweighs the bad. The key is to find jobs they can do without a lot of supervision.
Our interns, being college students, are natural Internet users. With just a bit of guidance they can find pretty much everything on anything. Since we are in the research business, this is very useful.
They're also natural users of social media. One of our interns is working on several social media related projects for us.
They also tend to be good with technology. Several of our interns are doing the filming and editing for one of our online video projects.
Interns also force to us focus. Our projects plans need to be more detailed and we need to stay on top of things a bit more than we usually do. These are good things.
Because of the good things, our productivity with interns is higher than when we don't have them.
So hire an intern (yes, we pay our interns and you should too if you can). The unemployment rate for teens and young adults is well above 20% - they need jobs. And they need to learn workplace skills and have experiences they can exaggerate on their resumes and in their full-time job interviews.
It's not too late this summer. Many colleges don't start again until mid to late September. But if not this summer, think about the school year (many colleges have school year intern programs) and next summer.
It's definitly worth it. in addition to productivity gains, you get to feel good about yourself because you are helping them out.
Not too long ago I acted as an intern for a large company. It was unpaid (which was ok) but my supervisor had no idea how to manage someone under her. The task I had to perform was complicated and I received next to no guidance in completing it.
Posted by: Staff Paging | July 18, 2011 at 02:39 PM
I would definitely agree with this article and there can be a lot of benefits to hiring an intern, both for them and you.
However, make sure you know the law, because there are certain requirements the program has to meet, otherwise it could be considered paying an employee below the minimum wage.
Posted by: Rob Carpenter | July 14, 2011 at 12:46 PM